Elders In Both Cases . . . Arbitration And An Elder Abuse Act Case. Dougherty v. Roseville Heritage Partners, et al., C087224 (3rd Dist. 3/30/20) (Krause, Murray, Hoch) is another of the many elder care facility cases in which the enforceability of an arbitration clause is at issue. Here, the trial court denied the […]
And Now There Is A Split Between The 4th District, Div. 3, And The 2nd District, Div. 2. In Branches Neighborhood Corp. v. CalAtlantic Group, Inc., 26 Cal.App.5th 743 (2018), a homeowner's association began a construction defects arbitration with a developer without first getting a vote of 51% of its […]
California Supreme Court Opinion Seeks To Promote Accessible And Affordable Procedures To Resolve Wage Disputes. I'm trying to catch up with some published opinions I failed to post on earlier this year. The most important, if only because it is a California Supreme Court opinion, is OTO, L.L.C. v. Kho, and the only benefit […]
College That Wanted To Participate In Intercollegiate Athletics Had No Choice Other Than To Contract With Athletic Association. Bakersfield College et al. v. California Community College Athletic Association et al., C085099 (3d Dist. 10/31/19) (Robie, Duarte, Renner), was described both by the trial court and the appellate court as a "close case". However, […]
Also, Arbitrator’s Religious Affiliation Is No Reason For Disqualification, With Jewish Affiliation Not Showing Any Inherent Bias Against Homosexuals. Bogue v. Anesthesia Service Medical Group, Inc., Case No. D073518 (4th Dist., Div. 1 July 17, 2019) (unpublished) (McConnell, P.J.; Benke, J.; and Irion, J.) is a case where a former employee lost an arbitration […]
First District, Division Two Affirms Trial Court's Order Denying Petition To Compel Arbitration And Stay Proceedings. In many ways, the next case fits the template of a typical case in which unconscionability is found to be a defense to enforcement of an arbitration clause. The Court of Appeal noted that the parties agreed, for […]
Arbitrator's Discretion To Limit Discovery Did Not Amount To Substantive Unconscionability. Finding "some procedural unconscionability", but not substantive unconscionability, the Court of Appeal reversed Judge Michael L. Stern's order denying defendants' motion to compel arbitration. Spaulding v. PJCA-2, LP et al., B285996 (2/7 2/11/19) (Segal, Zelon, Feuer) (unpublished). The Court held that the arbitration agreement, […]
Under Armendariz Framework, Court Finds Parties' Arbitration Agreement Is Unconscionable. Constance Ramos, "an experienced litigator and patent practitioner with a doctorate in biophysics" petitioned the Court of Appeal to vacate superior court Judge John Stewart's order granting the motion of her erstwhile employer, Winston & Strawn, to compel arbitration of her employment/FEHA dispute. […]
Employee Was Required To Have Informal Meeting With Employer First, Formal Mediation Next, And Then Arbitration, With Employer Paying Costs Of ADR Remedies. Justice Bedsworth, in his distinctively colorful writing style, reversed a denial of a motion to compel arbitration in line with an ADR agreement between employee and employer in Barati v. Ottno, Inc., […]
Arbitration Clause Was Infirm Because It Was A “Side Agreement” Neither Filed With Nor Approved By California’s Insurance Commissioner. Nielsen Contracting, Inc. v. Applied Underwriters, Inc., Case No. D072393 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 3, 2018, modified on May 23, 2018) (published) (Haller, J., author, concurred in by McConnell, P.J. and Huffman, J.) decided […]